It's Free to Look Hamptons: 73 Briar Patch Road, East Hampton

For the city-dweller, the Hampton wilds can be pretty scary. This property, fortunately, gives timid outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen just enough nature to satisfy their curiosity, while keeping those trees and ponds at a safe distance.

It's "the ultimate Hamptons haven," says the Corcoran listing. At $17.95 million and 10,000 square feet, the house serves as an ideal shelter as you engage tentatively with the outside world. Gaze, if you like, upon the 17-acre "nature conservancy" nearby, but watch out: even just the views are "breathtaking." If that experience of nature becomes too overwhelming, the house, with its "sprawling double-height great room" and its "den," gives you some practice dealing with wide-open spaces.

Once you've mustered your courage, test your resolve at the screened porch, which features "indoor/outdoor" fireplaces, which presumably means you can switch back and forth between the two environments as your confidence dictates. Or, head up to the second-floor terraces, where the "winter views of Georgica pond" mean you'll only have to face the outside world for one quarter of the year. — William Alden

For the city-dweller, the Hampton wilds can be pretty scary. This property, fortunately, gives timid outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen just enough nature to satisfy their curiosity, while keeping those trees and ponds at a safe distance away.